Device for supporting and forwarding web material



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Patented June 19, 1951 DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND FORWARD- ING WEB MATERIAL William Dreisel, Lawrence, Mass., assignor to Andrews & Goodrich, Inc., Dorchester, Mass., a corporation oi' Massachusetts Application June 28, 1946, Serial No. 680,321

1 Claim.

This invention relates to means for supporting and feeding web material of that known type in which the web material is supported and given its forward movement cn rotatable supporting rolls.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel non-positive means for driving or rotating the supporting rolls by which the peripheral speed of each roll will be -automatically adjusted to the speed at which the web material is delivered thereto, while at the same time each roll will be subjected to sufficient torque so that it will have a feeding action on the web material without subjecting the latter to any detrimental tension in the direction of the feeding movement.

The invention is especially applicable for use in supporting and feeding forward cloth or oth 2r material in web form while it is being treated in a manner that is likely to cause a change in the length thereof. A specific example of such use is in conveying cloth or other web material through a drying chamber for the purpose of drying it, and it is such an application of the invention that is herein illustrated.

When cloth is being carried through a drying chamber, it sometimes experiences a shrinkage during the drying operation, and as a result the cloth will be delivered from the drying chamber at a slower rate than that at which it is delivered to the drying chamber.

As stated above, my invention provides novel means for driving the individual supporting rolls by which the surface speed of each roll will be automatically adjusted to the speed at which the cloth or other web material is delivered thereto, and as a result the cloth or other web material will be conveyed through the drying chamber under a. substantially uniform tension which is not affected by any change of length which the cloth experiences during the drying operation.

In the drawings wherein I have illustrated the invention as it might be applied for the purpose of conveying cloth or other web material through a drying chamber,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an apparatus embodying my invention taken on substantially the line I--i, Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Figs. 1 and 2.-

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5, Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6 6,

Fig. 4.

Fig. 'I is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section on the line 8-8, Fig. '1.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view showing a still different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view showing still another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1l is a fragmentary view showing still another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of the driving mechanism shown in Fig. l1.r

Fig. 13 is a View of the yielding torque-transmitting element which is used in the various embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 14 is a section on the line |4-l4, Fig. 12.

In the drawings, l indicates a drying chamber through which the web material is conveyed and in which it is dried, and 2 indicates supporting rolls extending transversely across the drying chamber and on which the web material 3 lo be dried is supported. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the web material 3 is festooned over the supporting rolls 2, said material passing over said supporting rolls and around under freely r0- tatable direction rolls 4 situated below the supporting rolls 2.

The supporting rolls 2 may have any suitable or usual construction and are journaled at their ends in suitable bearings 5, the end portions 6 of each roll being shown as having a reduced diameter.

Each supporting roll 2 is driven through the medium of a novel friction drive which will subject the roll to the necessary torque to advance the cloth or web material supported thereon, but which at the same time will permit the surface speed of the roll to be automatically adjusted to the rate at which the web material is delivered to the roll. The friction drive for each roll herein illustrated comprises a rotatable driving member, herein shown as a sprocket wheel l, which is loosely mounted on one reduced end 6 of the roll and which is frictionally confined between a collar 8 that is fast to the roll (herein referred to as a fast collar), and a yielding torque-transmitting element comprising a spring l0 which encircles the end 6 of the roll and which is fixedly secured at one end to a second collar 9 that is approximately the same size as the fast collar 8 and is loosely mounted on the roll and frictional- 1y engages the driving member l, and is xedly secured at the other end to a third collar I I that is mounted on the end 6 of the roll for adjustment axially thereof but is held against rotative movement relative to the roll. The collar 9 may be referred to as a friction collar and the third collar Il may be referred to as an adjustable collar." l i This torque-transmitting element is shown in Fig. 13, and the ends of the spring I0 may be rigidly secured to the collars 9 and Il in any suitable way as, for instance, by welding operation, the weld being indicated at 64.

The tension of the spring I8 produces a 4i'rictional engagement between the friction collar 9 and the driving member 1, which frictional engagement may be increased or decreased by adjusting the adjustable collar II on the shaft end l When the driving member 1 is rotated by suitable driving means presently to be described, the frictional engagement between said driving member and the collar 9 tends to rotate said collar and since said collar is rigidly secured to the end of the spring I0, the torque thus produced on the collar-8 is transmitted through the spring I0 to the collar II, which as stated above, is held from turning movement on the shaft end 6. Hence, the turning moment which the driving member 1 applies to the collar 9 by reason of the frictional engagement between said member and said collar, is transmitted through the spring I and the collar Il to the roll 2. The frictional engagement of the driving member 1 with the fast collar 8 also produces a torque on said collar which is transmitted to the roll 2. The driving eort of each driving member 1 is, therefore, transmitted to the roll partly by the frictional engagement between the driving member and the fast collar 8, and partly through the yielding torque-transmitting element comprising the spring I0 and the collars 9 and II.

Means are provided by which the tension of the various springs III can be varied thereby to vary the torque which each driving member 1 imparts to its supporting roll 2. Such means may be of a nature to permit the tension of each spring to be adjusted independently, or may be of such a nature that the tension of all the springs can be adjusted simultaneously.

In Fig. there is shown a construction which admits of independent adjustment of the tension of each spring. In said construction the collar IIa of the yielding torque-transmitting element is adjustable axially of the roll 2 and is held in its adjusted position by means of a set screw 52. With such a construction, the tension on each spring can be adjusted independently of that on any other spring by simply making a proper adjustment of each collar IIa on the end 6 Vof its roll 2.

In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the adjustable collar I I to which the outer end of the spring Ill is secured is splined to the end 6 of its roll 2 as indicated at 60. Said collar II is backed by a cap member I2 which fits over the end of the shaft extension 6 and is slidable axially thereon. Said cap member I2 is engaged by a suitable cam I3 mounted on a cam shaft I4 so that by turning the cam from the dotted line position in Fig. 5 to the full line position, the cap member I2 will be moved axially of the shaft and the spring I0 will be correspondingly compressed thereby increasing the driving effort which the sprocket wheel 1 will impart to the roll 2.

The cam members I3 may be capable of independent adjustment so that the springs for the various rolls 2 may be independently adjusted, or said cams may all be made fast on a common cam shaft I4 which extends longitudinally of the drying chamber and is supported at its ends in suitable bearings I5, so that by turning said shaft all the cams will be operated simultaneously. For this purpose, the cam shaft I4 may be provided at one end with a hand wheel I8 by which it may be turned. With the construction shown in Fiss. 3 and 5. the tension or all of the springs 4 I0 may be adjusted simultaneously thereby .obtaining a simultaneous adjustment of the driv- -ing effort which each driving member imparts to its roll.

In Figs. 4 and 6, I have illustrated a slightly different embodiment of the invention in which each cap member I2 is acted on by a cam 21 that is pivoted to turn about a vertical axis 2l. Each cam 21 has an arm 29 extending therefrom which is pivotally connected to a control rod 30 that is slidably mounted in suitable bearings 3l. One end of the control rod 30 is connected to a control lever 32 which is pivoted at 3l so that by operating the lever 32 all of the cams 21 may be turned about their axes thereby to vary the tension of the springs I0.

In the construction shown in Figs. 'I and 8, the tension of the spring Il of the yielding torquetransmitting element is adjusted by the cooperation of a fixed cam member 34 and a movable cam member 31, both of which are mounted on the shaft end 6. The stationary or fixed cam member 34 is backed by a collar 38 that is fast to the end 6 of the roll, and said stationary cam is held from rotative movement by means of a suitable arm 35 which is rigid therewith and which may be connected to some suitable stationary support.

The movable cam element 31 is situated between the fixed cam element 34 and the collar II and is provided with an arm 28 by which it maj be turned. The two cam elements have cooperating cam faces 42 constructed so that by turning the cam 31 on the roll end l, the collar II will be moved inwardly, thereby increasing the tension of the spring I0.

The arms 38 of the various clutch members are shown as pivotally connected to a control rod 33 which extends longitudinally of the drying apparatus. Said control rod is connected at one end to a control lever 40 which is pivoted at 4I to the housing of the drying apparatus or some other stationary support.

By operating the control lever 4l, the control rozi 39 can be moved in the direction of its length, and through the operation of the two cam members 31, 34 for the various rolls, the tension of the springs I 0 will be varied, thereby to vary the torque which each sprocket wheel 1 imparts to its supporting roll through the spring I0.

In Fig. 9 there is shown a still further embodiment of the invention in which the torque-transmitting unit comprising the spring IJ and the two collars 9 and II is confined between the sprocket wheel 1 and a cap member I2a mounted on the end of roll extension 6 and carrying at its outer end a roll 43 that bears against a cam surface 44 of a cam member 45 that is secured to the control rod 45. This control rod is shown as having a screw-threaded end 41 on which is screw threaded a hand wheel 48, said wheel being confined between two stationary arms 48 through which the threaded end of .the shaft loosely passes. By rotating the hand wheel 48, the control rod 4B and the cam 45 will be moved in one direction or the other thereby adjusting the position of the cap I2a on the roll end 6 and varying the tension of the spring Il and consequently the torque or driving force which the sprocket wheel 1 imparts to its supporting roll.

The cap member I2a is shown as having two arms 6I extending therefrom, each carrying at its end a guiding pin 63 operating in a slot l2 formed in a supporting bar 50, said arms II serving to hold the cap I2a from rotation.

In Fig. 11 I have shown another embodiment of the invention in which the outer collar IIb of the yielding torque-transmitting element has rigid therewith a cap member I2b that ts over the end of the shaft extension 6. The collar I Ib is splined to the shaft extension as shown at 60.

.The closed outer end 18 of the cap member I2b has a general conical shape and is engaged by an arm 1I carried by a control shaft 12, mounted in suitable bearings. Said shaft 12 has a lever arm 13 extending therefrom which is connected at its `outer end to one end of a threaded rod 14. This rod1l extends through an opening in the stationary bracket 15 and is provided lwith two check nuts 16, 11 by which the rod 16 can be adjusted vertically in the stationary anchoring bracket. The vertical adjustment of the rod 14 operates to turn the shaft 12 therebyr shifting the position of the arm 1I and thus varying the tension of the spring III.

The driving members 1 may be operated in any approved way. As stated above, these driving members are shown as in the form of sprocket wheels and they are all driven from an endless sprocket chain I1 which is shown as passing under the first two sprocket wheels 1 then over an idler sprocket I8, thence under the next two sprockets 1 and over another idler I8 and so on. The idlers I8 are carried in suitable brackets I9 and are so positioned that in passing over the idlers I8, the sprocket chain is wrapped for a slight distance around the adjacent sprocket wheels 1 thereby maintaining a proper driving connection between the sprocket chain and each sprocket wheel 1. The endless sprocket chain I1 is shown as passing over a driven sprocket wheel e 20 at one end and over an idler sprocket 2I at the other end, the driven sprocket being driven from any suitable source of power through a belt or driving Sprocket chain 22. The upper run 23 ofthe endless sprocket chain I1 passes over. two sprocket-wheels 2l that are spaced from each other and underneath the sprocket wheel 2i from which is hung a suitable-weight126, said weight serving to maintain the sprocket chain I1 vunder constant tension.

As stated above, vthe driving mechanismv for` the sprocket wheels 1 is preferably adjusted so that each roll 2 will have a surface speed slightly greater than that at which the cloth is moving forward, and as a result each roll 2 imparts a feeding motion to the cloth. The non-positive friction drive for each. sprocket wheel herein il. lustrated, however, permits each roll 2 to ladjust` itself automatically to the speed at which the cloth or other webl material is delivered thereto.'

and therefore the cloth will be. subjected to a substantially uniform tension throughout its length, notwithstanding any change in the overall length of the cloth which occurswhile it is being fed forward.

The device herein illustrated isespecially well u adapted for forwarding cloth through the drying chamberof a drying apparatus. Cloth which is being dried in a drying apparatus frequently experiences a shrinkage so that whena web of cloth is being carried through the drying chamassmie e of movement of the lcloth'as it passes overa supportingv roll 2 being slightly greater than the speed of movement of the cloth as it passes over another roll between the first-named roll and the delivery end of the drying chamber. Hence, the cloth may be delivered to any particular roll, at a speed which is slightly different from that at which it is delivered to rolls on eithey side thereof.

If the supporting rolls were all positively driven, this difference in the feeding movement of the cloth due to the shrinkage thereof would result in increasing the tension on the cloth as it advances through the drying chamber.

Withmy present invention, however, the surface speed of each roll automatically adjusts ltse1f to the speedcf the web materiau which is being delivered thereto,`and as a result the tension on the cloth orother web material remains substantially uniform from one end of the drying chamber to the other, such tension being a negligible matter as it is only that which is required to feed the cloth forward from one roll 2 to the next.

I claim:

In a device vfor supporting and forwarding material in web form of the type having a plurality of supporting rolls on which the webmaterial is supported and by which it is forwarded, means for rotating each -roll comprising a rotatable collar being loose thereon, the driving member on each roll beinglocated between'the collars thereon and in yfrictional engagement with each collar, whereby part of the driving effort of each driving member is transmitted to the correspondroll 'by the frictional engagements between said driving member and the collarwhiclfi is fast on said roll, an adjustable collar mounted on each roll for adjustment axially but held from rotation relative thereto, a coil spring encircling each roll and situated between the adjustable collar thereon and the loose frictlonal collar, one

end of said spring being rigidly secured to the adjustable collar and the other end of said tains the desired lfrictional engagement between ber of a. drying apparatus the speedJ of movement of the cloth as .it' leaves vthe drying chamber may be slightly less than the` speed at which the undried cloth is delivered to the drying cham'- ber. Furthermore, because of such shrinkage, the speed of movement of the cloth at different points along the line of its travel through the drying chamber will vary more or less, the speed the corresponding driving'member and the friction collars with which it engages,I but also serves to transmit the vremainder of the driving effort from the driving member to theroll, and

means common '.to al1 the adjustable collars to adjust them simultaneously axially of the rolls.

v WILLIAM DREISEL.

`REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: v

UNITED STATESIPATENTS Number Name Date 1,298,395 Proctor Mar. 25, 1919 1,686,907 Fairall. Oct. 9, 1928 2,151,724'Y Wengel et al Mar. 28, 1939 2,163,263 l Simons June 29, 1939 2,248,333 Burbank July 8, 1941 2.342.850 Ferm f Feb. 29, 1944 

